What next for middleweight kingpin Golovkin after brutal Brook stoppage?

What next for Golovkin?

Reigning unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin promised a big drama show in London and the Kazakh delivered on his word, going toe-to-toe with Kell Brook before earning a 23rd successive stoppage victory in the fifth round.

Gennady Golovkin forced Kell Brook’s corner to throw in the towel in their middleweight clash.

‘GGG’ admitted after the bout that it was far from his best performance, having become frustrated at time by his Sheffield challenger and getting caught on several occasions, but his power came to fore in the fifth, with a flurry of devastating blows forcing Dominic Ingle to throw in the towel.

The undefeated 34-year-old has outlined intentions of unifying the entire division and also admitted he would love to fight in the UK again in the near future. So, after stopping Brook at the O2 Arena, Coral look at who’s next for Golovkin…

Daniel Jacobs

Is the next Golovkin fight set to be against Jacobs later this year?

WBA Regular middleweight title holder Daniel Jacobs halted Sergio Mora in their recent rematch and immediately called for a unification showdown with Golovkin, with the organisation also having made the New Yorker mandatory for the Kazakh champion.

Jacobs has already prevailed in the greatest battle of his life, overcoming cancer four years ago then returning to the ring to be crowned world champion in an inspirational feel-good story.

The 29-year-old holds the other part of Golovkin’s WBA Super strap and, with the latter knockout artist seeking “all the belts”, such a match-up could be on the horizon later this year.

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez

After brutally stopping Amir Khan, Canelo will next face Liam Smith.

A meeting between Canelo and Golovkin is the one that the fans want to see but, with the Mexican having previously vacated his WBC title to avoid the Kazakh, it’s a fight in danger of never happening or being prolonged too long like Floyd Mayweather v Manny Pacquiao.

Golden Boy’s Oscar De La Hoya has claimed the bout will take place next year and that it needs time to come to fruition. Though, in the meantime, Canelo is 11/4 to stop Liverpool’s Liam Smith inside rounds 7-9 in their upcoming clash in Texas, after viciously halting Amir Khan in May.

There have been plenty of frustrating road blocks in the way of this intriguing pairing, with Smith believing that his next opponent is simply ducking ‘GGG’, but it’s a blockbuster bout that would simply be a disaster for the sport if not eventually made.

Chris Eubank Jr

Eubank Jr called ‘GGG’ out again after Brook was stopped in London.

Before the dust had even settled on Golovkin’s latest success, British middleweight prospect Chris Eubank Jr went online to offer his services for a meeting with Golovkin, despite earlier negotiations having broken down.

The 26-year-old had initially been lined up to face ‘GGG’ in his maiden UK outing but the fight was then given to Brook, following unsuccessful contract talks with Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn, but can they come to an agreement at the second time of asking?

Golovkin is keen to fight on these shores once again and further his evergrowing reputation as one of the sport’s best, but Eubank Jr has no world title to put on the table, nor has he an unbeaten record to try and maintain.

What the Eubanks do bring forward is controversy and plenty of drama in the build-up, an approach which Golovkin isn’t fond of and finds disrespectful, giving the bout enough to attract an audience.

Billy Joe Saunders

Is Saunders good enough to take Golovkin into the later rounds?

With bruises across his face in the aftermath of his fifth-round stoppage of Brook, Golovkin beamed with his typically charming smile, and the first name out of his slightly swollen mouth was Billy Joe Saunders.

“I’m a boxer, I’m open for everybody, but I want a unification fight,” stated the champion. “First of all, I would like Billy Joe Saunders because he has the WBO belt.”

It will take a Gypsy to beat this unbeatable GGG, that Gypsy is @bjsaunders_ Let’s Bash another Kazak Both K2 aswell, #Gypsybrother

The WBO middleweight titlist would represent another potential UK-based opponent for ‘Triple G’, as he hunts down his ultimate goal of capturing all the gold at 160lbs.

Undefeated southpaw Saunders has notable victories over both Eubank Jr and Ireland’s Andy Lee, and the Frank Warren promoted champion has claimed he would be willing to step into the ring with the heavily avoided Kazakh.

The 27-year-old is yet to defend the crown which he won last December, when outpointing Lee in Manchester and, with Golovkin targeting his current strap, another high-profile UK dust-up could soon occur.

Erislandy Lara

Is Lara next for Golovkin?

Technically astute Cuban Lara was perhaps unlucky not to have gained a decision triumph over Canelo in their bitter 2014 scrap, and still to this day claims to have won the fight in Las Vegas.

The WBA and IBO light-middleweight champion has won four on the bounce since that sickening points loss to the fiery headed Mexican two years ago, but is targeting a big-name opponent, having previously outlined his desire to face Golovkin after defeating Vanes Martirosyan.

Slick southpaw Lara would have to jump up in weight to tackle the middleweight kingpin, with Golovkin confirming he won’t budge from 160lbs until he’s conquered all.